PS Vita: Never Stop Playing

I wanted to take a moment to introduce myself: My name is Guy Longworth and I am the new Senior Vice President of PlayStation Brand Marketing. As you can imagine, the teams here at PlayStation have been hard at work gearing up for one of PlayStation’s most exciting product launches ever: PS Vita! I speak for the entire team when I say that we can’t wait to get PS Vita into your hands. That’s because we designed PS Vita to be everything you wanted in the ultimate portable gaming system – a revolutionary device with innovative controls, a brilliant 5’’ OLED screen, new channels for social connectivity, and a killer software lineup.

As we prepare to launch PS Vita we are also unleashing the biggest advertising campaign in PlayStation’s history. Beginning today, PS Vita will be everywhere you turn. Spanning from coast to coast, PS Vita and the official tag line “Never Stop Playing,” will be featured on wallscapes, billboards, radio and television as well as at many of your favorite local retailers. I hope you love the “Never Stop Playing” theme as much as we do. We think it embodies everything that PS Vita represents towards enabling gamers to have deeply immersive, console-like experiences anywhere, anytime. Here’s an early look at what you can expect to see:

You will find the television commercials featured during primetime programming on some of your favorite networks including Fox, Comedy Central and ESPN. Residents of New York, LA, Chicago, Philadelphia and San Francisco will notice PS Vita on buildings and billboards. You’ll find it on your favorite websites and on your favorite radio stations. Wherever you are, PS Vita aims to be.

As we begin to count down the days and hours until PS Vita’s official launch on February 22nd, expect to hear more from us on how you, the PlayStation Nation, will have the opportunity to be a part of celebrations from coast to coast. We’re looking forward to forever changing the way you game and making certain that no matter where you are, you never have to stop playing.

People will be mad when they realise they can’t take their entire ps3 library on the go like this ad seems to be pushing.

Why do they always go with this abstract garbage rather then promoting the system itself? The vita is beautful, the screen alone would sell it but I guess it means more to them to advertise a bunch of random actors instead.

Dropping that 50 million from a skyscraper with vita pictures tagged to each $100 bill would have more of an impact to the media and human race then these horrible random ads.

If there was no audio during that clip I’d swear they were selling hair styling products because the camera is on that guy’s face 90% of the time and selectively blurs out the vita (large aperture lens overused), they also have the main selling point (the dual sticks) covered the entire time, so most people might just think this is a firmware update for their PSP.

GG Sony…PS the real threat on the street isn’t people not looking where they are going while gaming, it’s the guy in the alley on the way home who will shoot you for your running shoes.

How long will it be before you open up the software to allow the hardware to do what it can? In this ad, you say “3G Gaming” and only show games that don’t work in 3G multiplayer. Why didn’t you show one of the turn-based games that will work over 3G? Or a bunch of guys just browsing their leaderboards and trophies?

How about the 20mb download limit for Sony Entertainment Network (formerly PSN) games over 3G? You’ve set it up that we’re paying AT&T by the megabyte and then telling us that we’re downloading too much?

Sony, you’ve got a schizophrenic system until you release the ‘mental’ blocks you’ve placed in the software.

And yes, I have a pre-order. What additional limitations will we learn when we start receiving our Vitas over the next week? When will you remove the shackles to let our “PS Vita to be everything you wanted in the ultimate portable gaming system”?

Thanks for stopping by, Guy. The hardware is very solid and should be for quite a few years. Paraphrased from Gizmodo, accessing different areas on the Vita (selecting music to listen to, opening an app, etc.) should take less than 5 ‘clicks,’ something Microsoft did well with the Zune.

I already have my gift cards and best buy rewards ready so I am getting a Vita just so you think I am not being a hater but, in all honesty the commercial was lame. You did not showcase what it can do, what features it has, you barely even showed off the beautiful screen. Also the slogan is going to be ripped apart.

I played the Vita last year at E3 and it was amazing (although your management of the line was god awful and stupid waiting in line for 4 hours just so we are forced to play it for like 5 mins and booted out with a sticker saying “I touched it” was not worth it.) You should learn how to manage lines efficiently from Nintendo when the 3DS was announced the line was smooth and efficient and the VIPs had their own area. Unlike what Sony did put them to the front of the line making all of us wait while they got to play as long as their want. Also Nintendo gives away awesome swag like collectable pins for playing each of their games while Sony gives away nothing.

You could have aired commercials during the Superbowl and The Voice for maximum exposure. 77 million people watched the voice after the Superbowl. Even the Superbowl had broken a record with 111 million viewers. Big missed opportunity

I just went to the UK blog and saw it and i think i agree. The Euro ad has more of the emotional appeal marketing school talks about. Its also targeted to different types of people, while the US one is aimed only at young white males. Apple and Nintendo products appeal to everyone, so the US approach here seams disappointing. But with advertising i’d say that even a bad ad can work if its on TV 24hrs a day lol.

I’d highlight more of the basic features of the Vita first, like the rear and back touch, dual analog, OLED screen, etc before getting into the 3G gaming since not every Vita will have it. It’s good that they’re beginning to advertise though, other than those Taco Bell commercials.

at 17 Crotin yes i agree with your comment , i think the first they should do is to advertise the basic features of the system first and the launch line up like uncharted , wipeout , escape plan , little deviants , modnation all in one ad like the ” the playstation 3 universe of entertainment ” i think those were the most simple but effective , catchy ads “

Looked great and those short scenes of gameplay might entice the curious to look into what the Vita has to offer. Needs more length and as other’s have mentioned, some way to convey the features other than 3G.

The ad was really good but I hope you guys have more ads that truly showcase the functions of the Vita rather than talking about 3G gaming. Need more ads that really let the customer see what the Vita can do. Just my 2¢.

You can tell that the marketing firms clearly have no clue about what they are trying to sell here. Maybe just maybe in the future Sony might want to consider a technical and gamer point of view instead of hyperactive “the hills” type commercial dramas.

I’m picking up 2 vitas and 10-12 games between my wife and I but guess what? We made that choice based on a select few youtube videos from skyghene22 with his Japan launch vita…. He was positive, clear and nice to watch/listen to and showcased the actual games and hardware just by playing it for us to watch. In 5 minutes this person made a larger impact then all of Sony’s marketing combined…. Guess how much he got paid to do it???

$0.00

Sometimes a product is great and sells itself just by showing off it’s games and features, oh and he didn’t have to put “simulated screen visual” across the screen while he played, because HE ACTUALLY HAD THE GAME AND WAS PLAYING IT!

I swear Sony needs to pull their head out of the sand when it comes to marketing things, it’s quite pathetic… the people they showcase in their commercials care more about their hairstyle then gaming clearly lmfao!

Great commercial, except for the fact that remote play DOESN’T WORK in any way, shape or form demoed in the ad. Nice con on the consumer, selling features that aren’t implemented/ don’t exist.

What’s most embarrassing for Sony is that the mor community can get any PS3 game streaming on a Vita – see: youtube. This will probably be the first Sony system I ever mod if a proper solution to remote play isn’t provided (as advertised lol).

thats an awful commercial, i played that gravity zone demo on a gamestop near here, and its really cool, do i say so, commercials are meant to sell their products, this one doesnt sell one bit, it actually makes me angry to have wasted my time watching it and posting my felling towards it…

You see that is why I don’t like modern gamers at all? Its always something with you. First you cry that Sony doesn’t advertise enough. Then when they do advertise, you don’t like the advertisements and you criticize them constantly. The truth is that you don’t know jack $hit. You are not a company you know nothing about advertising. Everyone is always telling Sony how to use their money and how they are doing everything wrong. The point of the commercial is to sell the VITA and that is what it is doing. The endless whining and b***hing over Sony gets on my nerves. People have been telling them they are doing it wrong since the days of the PS1.

.God just shut up and let Sony do their thing. How stupid can people get. It’s like ignorance, contradiction and whining seems to be the only forte gamers have these days. ‘Durr, Sony commercials are lame’ and when they try humor ‘Dur Kevin Butler isn’t funny’ and they try to be creative ‘Durr, Sony is weird and should just show the product and stop all the strange crap. Just shut up for once. When you have your own multi- billion dollar company you can criticize all you like then

Yes, the fellow standing in the street with his Vita is very pretty, but wouldn’t it be a good idea to actually show the games, and the abilities of the machine? The ‘core’ players already know all this stuff, but for anyone just seeing an ad like this, they’ll probably just think it’s a rebranded PSP.
At least the European ads have some flashy visuals.

The haters are crazy. This is a 33 second ad that does EXACTLY what it’s supposed to. Function as one of several ads that will air. Each ad showing a “bullet point” of the Vita’s functions, in a clever way. This one, shows us the simple ability that you will be comparing other Vita owner’s high scores wherever you go. It does NOT show this by boring screens of someone swiping through leaderboard pages. Consumers getting new to the idea of the Vita, do not want to sit and watch 5 min, YouTube-like, tech demo videos. This spot is near perfect.

Yes, unlike the majority of those telling Sony how it should be done, I have a BA in Graphic Arts/Marketing/Advertising. This commercial is pure, unadulterated “Advertising 101”.

@ cosmis_chaos, actually, when we are the consumers whom might buy the products, we have the right to complain all we want since we are the ones giving them the billions of $$. You clearly have no concept of a company clearly listening to its consumers. There is much more to be shown about the product than what they are showing! We are not the company, we do not know about advertising?? Umm, excuse me, but I know what works for me, and what does not work for me at all! So, if you don’t want to add to your clearly hypocritical statement about people whining and complaining, why dont you just shut up and let others vent so sony can clearly listen to its customers!

@cosmis_chaos And I can’t remember the last time Sony was actually pulling a profit. Point is that they’re marketing for hardware has always been piss poor, and it shows oh so much. The people aren’t here to criticize out of hate. The people are criticizing because they actually want Sony to succeed, and it bothers them when they make poor decisions that would jeopardize that.

@44 Bigcalv2002 – You are not the target for this advertisement. You are a PS+ member who has already made up their mind on whether you’re going to buy a Vita or, not. So, “it doesn’t work for you”.. It’s not meant to.

Venting is fine but, when you don’t know the entire campaign, you have the right to vent, just not a complete enough picture to make a decent argument.

@37 You seem confused about the relationship between consumers and companies. While we may develop a sense of familiarity, of comfort and companionship with a brand, that is just an illusion. As rose tinted as our first kiss. As consumers, we are allowed to voice our dissent when a company whom we are paying fails to perform to the level of quality that we have come to expect of a brand. I’ve been a Sony consumer for over 10 years, yet lately the relationship is strained at best. Do note that while I use the term “relationship”, I imply nothing more than a commercial arrangement between two parties. There is an air of nostalgia with some of the games I’ve played on PS systems, but I am not so deluded as to attach a great personal sentiment to these memories or the machines that bore them.

Sony have demonstrated an incredible lack of vision this generation. Producing the best hardware with some of the zaniest marketing/ development strategies around. One step forward two steps back seems to be their mantra. My personal issue with this ad, is that they’re advertising a remote play like functionality when by all reviews and accounts remote play isn’t working unless you hack the system (in which case it works perfectly).